It’s been an eventful week as Saturday Night’s Main Event aired live from Madison Square Garden and Lyra Valkyria picked up a big win over Bayley. On the following episode of Raw, Lyra said that she ran Bayley out of the company which has led to speculation that she may have been written off TV.
Fightful Select reports that no one could confirm Bayley has been written off TV for now, but her contract situation has been a topic of discussion not only in WWE, but in AEW as well.
The expectation is that unless injury time is added, Bayley’s deal with WWE will be up by the end of the year. A specific expiration date for the deal has not been confirmed, but Bayley has not signed a new contract as of this writing, although it’s being said that WWE will want to retain the former WWE Women’s Champion.
On the AEW side it’s being reported that Bayley’s contract situation has been a topic of conversation backstage for some time now. AEW is believed to be extremely interested and is expected to make a play for Bayley if she becomes a free agent. Bayley has been at a number of AEW events, but Tony Khan avoids conversations with talent who are under contract with WWE when they are at the shows. A number of sources have reportedly been discussing the idea of Bayley joining the company for over a year.
An agent who spoke with Fightful noted that if Bayley were to become a free agent the demand she would have from AEW and WWE could potentially tip the change in contract terms for many in WWE. The agent believed that Bayley could set the standard after many deals were cut midway, as WWE contracts do not have guaranteed years or no-cut deals.
AEW and WWE are both likely to offer Bayley a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract if she hits free agency. AEW would also pay for travel costs and allow her to take bookings outside the company. There’s also a belief that Bayley would be one of the more in demand names on the convention circuit.